This morning we were welcomed by the staff of Alianza Cristiana, a 5000+ member evangelistic movement in the heart of Reynosa, Mexico. We were honored by participating in the first of four services held at the facility. I must say “these folks can sing.” Oh my, we were placed between probably 1,800 members and the worship team led by their highly energetic Pastor Mario Perez. With all of our arms raised high to the Father, we sang with the church to many familiar songs in Espanola. Thank the Lord we had the words on a video monitor.
I was very impressed with the absolute genuine worship in the church. Eyes were closed, hands raised, the spirit of the Lord was there everywhere. Brian Park a pastor associated with POWER was our speaker during the service. He brought a message that cut to the heart of all.
One thing impressed me above all was the placing hands on many members who came up for prayer. POWER men prayed out loud over them and you could hear multiple voices speaking out and calling on God. You could also hear some of the emotional responses released from the recipients. It sounded like the singing of birds in the morning. I imagined that every morning the animals and birds in their very own way are singing to the Father.
Beautiful.
This evening this verse came to me and it reminds me of God’s steadfastness and unending love He has for us.
Habakkuk:17-18 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.
Beautiful.
At noon, We all were fed by Alianza volunteers, a terrific meal. Stories were shared and then off to the carnival, at Rio Bravo, a children’s home.
At the carnival 800 coloring books/bibles were passed out, thousands of hot dogs were cooked, rides and games set up and a soccer field was in play. Every excuse in the book was permitted for helping the little ones win small prizes and soccer balls…. (like 300 of them). The little ones there had huge smiles on their faces. Neighborhood families also attended, participated. I believed many were blessed including us.
Beautiful.
Finally, you never know who you will run into on a mission trip. It happened this evening at dinner. A man I sat across from impressed me the most. His hands were tough from years of hard labor, his eyes were clear and illuminated humility, his voice was soft and he spoke plainly, his skin was weathered and his actions reminded me of a distant memory, my Father. He has been gone for a number of years but I saw my father again in this man. You see, my Father gave all he had unconditionally. He taught me how to live, act, respond, speak, love, respect and best of all love the Father in heaven.
Beautiful.
Walter